Christian J. Ramos is charged in connection with incidents in March and September.

WALLA WALLA -- A trial scheduled today for a youth accused of committing two separate assaults this year has been postponed in Walla Walla County Superior Court.

Christian J. Ramos, 17, of 930 W. Birch St., now is set for trial Feb. 3. He is charged in the court's Juvenile Department with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of second-degree malicious mischief.

Police said Ramos hit Corey J. Reece, 24, twice with a baseball bat during an altercation Sept. 19. The assault -- believed to be the result of continuing violence between two local gangs -- allegedly took place in the area of 12th Avenue and Willow Street in retaliation for earlier damage to windows at Ramos' residence and four vehicles parked nearby.

Ramos is accused of breaking windows in the vehicle Reece had been in before he was assaulted.

Reece suffered severe injuries to his face and head and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to a police report filed in court.

Several months earlier, on March 7, Ramos was injured in a gang-related fight in the area of 12th and Birch, officials said. But police believe he also struck his alleged assailant, Antonio Carmona-Hernandez, 16, of 308 N. Sixth Ave., with a bat, seriously injuring him.

Ramos wasn't initially charged with assault in connection with that fight because it could be argued he acted in self-defense, officials said. However, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Adam Malcolm said in an interview that he filed the charge after the September assault on Reece because of the "serious pattern of activity" Ramos allegedly was engaging in.